Ball hits a tree

[Rich]

Originally Posted by Manny A

True story: Our Little League Junior League baseball team played on a visiting field that had no outfield fence. It was all-you-can-get when the ball was hit past the outfielders for the most part. However, deep in left field, there were some woods that basically ran perpendicular to the left field line. In the left field corner, the woods were probably 350 feet away, and ran further away from home as it went from left to right.

We had a ground rule to prevent fielders from running into the woods that if a fair batted ball bounced into them from the foul line to essentially left-center, it would be killed and the batter would be awarded three bases. From left-center and beyond, it would be a four-base award. The theory was that if there were no woods in those areas, the batter would probably get a triple or a home run by the time the left fielder or center fielder retrieved the ball and threw it back in. It was umpire judgment which "wedge" the ball entered the woods. Obviously, anything in flight into the woods was a four-base award.

I've never seen a field where an anomaly could be dealt with using a one-base-award ground rule. But that doesn't mean it cannot be allowed as you surmise.

As a baseball umpire, I wouldn't allow that.

You can set a dead ball area/line, but once you do the rules take precedence. That, by rule, is a two-base award in baseball.

Perhaps softball is different. I actually thought this was posted on the baseball board until I looked up and saw "Softball" in the forum link.